BHS cross country runs according to plan at DSL cluster meet

Friday

Oct 18, 2013 at 2:54 PM

RIDGECREST — On its home course for the second DSL cluster meet of the season, things went exactly as planned for the Burroughs cross country team on Wednesday. On a five-kilometer course at Cerro Coso, the Burros’ boys team narrowly beat Granite Hills and the girls team finished second with the help of a late replacement.

By Anthony GentileSPORTS EDITORagentile@ridgecrestca.com

RIDGECREST — On its home course for the second DSL cluster meet of the season, things went exactly as planned for the Burroughs cross country team on Wednesday. On a five-kilometer course at Cerro Coso, the Burros’ boys team narrowly beat Granite Hills and the girls team finished second with the help of a late replacement.“It was a good day all around,” Burros head coach Anthony Barnes said.In the boys race, Burroughs beat Granite Hills by two points. Josh Boston won the race with a time of 16:23.49, breaking his previous course record by 36 seconds and finishing 26 seconds ahead of the rest of the competition.“Josh is showing that he’s getting more and more ready for the postseason,” Barnes said. “He was flying and in control again — total control.”In his first DSL race, Christian Schultz finished fourth overall with a time of 17:07.32. Schultz made his varsity debut at the Disney Cross Country Classic last weekend, after sitting out due to CIF transfer rules.“More or less, Christian made the difference,” Barnes said. “He was performing better than he did at Walt Disney World.”Greg Ostrom came in seventh with a time of 17:31.79. In addition to solid performances by the Burros’ top three runners, Alan Bradford and Alex Salinas delivered results critical to the narrow victory. Bradford finished 10th with a time of 17:54.97 and Salinas ended up 13th with a time of 18:29.60 — both runners finished ahead of their Granite Hills’ counterparts.“In the last half-mile, our kids passed one kid from Granite Hills each and that’s the reason why we won,” Barnes said. “It came down to those last two guys, and whether or not we were in front of Granite Hills — in both cases they were 15 yards in front of them and outrunning them at the finish.”Andrew Estabridis (16th place, 18:39.97) and Nathaniel Aralar (17th, 18:40.97) rounded out the Burros’ contingent on Wednesday. With the victory, Burroughs kept itself in position to win the league championship — the Burros and Cougars will race for the league title in the DSL Finals next month.“We accomplished this and now we move to the next step in the process — we’re looking forward to it,” Barnes said.The girls race featured fast times, as the top three runners broke the previous course record. Maryah Marcano came in second with a time of 19:41.02, finishing only behind Granite Hills’ Katie Deimling.“Maryah flat out stuck her nose out there and said ‘Come and get me,’” Barnes said. “All of them tried, and only one of them could. The overall girls’ performances were outstanding.”Anne Ewbank (eighth, 21:37.58), Marin Carey (10th, 22:02.55) and Julia Ernst (11th, 22:12.40) helped Burroughs to a second-place team finish. After two runners unexpectedly quit the team on Tuesday night, the Burros had to scramble to find a fifth runner for the team to remain eligible to qualify for CIF.“I couldn’t be prouder of the four girls — having to deal with the emotional roller coaster,” Barnes said. “Across the board my girls were fantastic and outstanding.”That fifth runner was Cindel Barnes, who finished 26th with a time of 31:22.58. When it appeared the Burros would be one short of the minimum five runners, the daughter of the cross country coach suggested she run with the team. The other four runners chanted “No. 5!” repeatedly as Barnes crossed the finish line. She will run with the team for the rest of the season.“We just find a way,” Barnes said. “The kids and their camaraderie really pulled it together.” Burroughs’ next meet is the Mt. SAC Invitational on Friday, Oct. 25. The Burros finish up the regular season with the DSL Finals on Nov. 6 — the nonleague meet against Tehachapi on Oct. 30 has been cancelled due to a scheduling mix-up.